History

Transnistria parliament building in Tiraspol. In front is a statue
of Lenin.

Soviet tank monument in Tiraspol

Soviet jet monument in Tiraspol

2006: Even the trolley buses of Tiraspol are patriotic

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Pre-history

Tyras, or Tiras was
a colony of Miletus,
probably founded about 600 BC, situated some 10 km. from the
mouth of the Tiras River (Dniester). Of no great importance in
early times, in the 2nd century BC it fell under the dominion of
native kings whose names appear on its coins, and was destroyed by
the Getae about 50 BC. In AD 56
it seems to have been restored by the Romans and since then formed part of the
province of Lower Moesia. A series of its coins exists,
featuring heads of Roman emperors from Domitian to Alexander Severus. Soon after the
time of the latter it was destroyed again by the Goths. Its government was in the hands of five archons, a senate, a popular assembly and a registrar. The types of its
coins suggest a trade in wheat, wine and fish. The few inscriptions
are also mostly concerned with trade. Its remains are scanty, as
its site has been covered by the great medieval fortress of
Monocastro or Akkerman.[4]

During the Middle
Ages, the area around Tiraspol was a buffer zone between the Tatars and the Moldavians,
inhabited by both ethnicities.

Foundation

The Russian
Empire conquered its way to the Dniester river from Turks and in 1792, the Russian army built some fortifications to
guard the western border near a Moldavian village named
Sucleia. Field Marshall Alexander Suvorov, who commanded
Russian armies, is considered the founder of Tiraspol, and his
statue is city's most distinctive landmark. The name was given
after the Latin name of the
Dniester river ("Tyras") on which it was built.

June 15, 1828: A customs house was established in Tiraspol. The
purpose of its creation became suppression of smuggling. This customs house was
subordinated to the chief of Odessa customs region. It began operations with
14 employees. They inspected shipments of bread, paper, oil, wine,
sugar, fruits and other goods.

On August 7, 1941, following the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union,
the city was taken by Romanian troops. During the
occupation, Tiraspol was under Romanian administration. During that
period almost all its Jewish population perished. This same year
(before the occupation), the newspaper “Dnestrovskaya pravda” was
founded by the Tiraspol City Council of popular deputies. This is
the oldest periodical publication in the region.

On April 12, 1944, the city was retaken by the Red Army and became again
part of Moldavian SSR.

After
independence

On January 27, 1990 A referendum declared that Tiraspol was an independent
territory. The nearby city of Bendery also declared its independence.
As the Russian-speaking independence movement
gained momentum, the local governments banded together to resist
pressure from the Moldovan government.

A street in Tiraspol.

On September 2, 1990, Tiraspol was proclaimed the capital of the
new Pridnestrovian
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. The new republic was not
officially recognized by Soviet authorities, however it received
support from some important Soviet leaders, like Anatoly
Lukyanov. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the
territory east of the Dniester river declared independence as Pridnestrovian Moldavian
Republic, with Tiraspol as its capital. However, it was not
recognized by the international community.

On July 1, 2005, the Lucian Blaga Lyceum, a high school with
Romanian as its language of instruction, was registered as a
Transnistrian non-governmental establishment. The registration of
six Romanian language
schools was subject of negotiations since 2000. The tension
increased in the summer of 2004, when the Transnistrian authorities
forcibly closed the schools that used the Moldovan
language in the Latin script, which, according to the official
PMR view, is considered as Romanian. Moldovan, written in the
Cyrillic script, is one of the three official languages in the PMR.
Romanian, however, is not. Some economic measures and
counter-measures were taken on both banks of the Dniester.

On July 6, 2006, an explosion, believed to be caused by a bomb,
killed at least eight people in a minibus.[5]

Anti-Semitism in
Tiraspol

Theater

14-15 April 2001 the Synagogue of Tiraspol suffered a pipe bomb attack. The
building was damaged, but the guard was not hurt.[9]

13-30 March 2004 over 70 tombstones in the Jewish cemetery of
Tiraspol were vandalized[10] Local
community leaders said the authorities refused to help clean up the
anti-Semitic graffiti painted over the tombstones[11]

4 May 2004, vandals threw a Molotov cocktail in an attempt to set
fire to a Synagogue in Tiraspol[11]
The attack failed when passers-by extinguished the fire.[12]

Monuments

The statue of Alexander Suvorov was erected in the
central square in 1979 in commemoration of his 250th anniversary.
In front of the Transnistrian Government building there is a statue
of Lenin. On
the opposite side of the central square, a monument plaza features
a Soviet T-34 tank, commemorating
the Soviet victory in World War II, an eternal flame to those
who fell defending the city in 1941 and liberating it in 1944, as
well as several monuments dedicated to more recent conflicts,
including the Soviet war in Afghanistan and
the War
of Transnistria.

People and
culture

Demographics

In 1989 the city had a population of about 190,000 and in 1992
203,000. 41% were Russians, 32% Ukrainians and 18% were Moldovans. As result of the political and
economic situation that followed the proclamation of the
independent (unrecognized) Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, as well
as large Jewish emigration in the early 1990s, the population of
the city fell below its 1989 number and the 2004 Census in Transnistria
puts its current population at 158,069.[13]

Sport

There are two professional football clubs in Tiraspol, playing
in the Divizia
Naţională, the top Moldovan football league: FC Sheriff
Tiraspol & FC
Tiraspol. Sheriff are the most successful Moldovan football
club of recent history, winning every league title since the
2000-2001 season, and 6 Moldovan Cups. A third club, CS Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol,
withdrew from competition prior to the 2009-2010 season. Tiraspol
is home to the Sheriff Stadium, the biggest seated
stadium in the region with a capacity of 14,300.

From Wikitravel

Contents

Tiraspol, though the largest city in Transnistria, is not
exactly the place-to-be. There are few things to see, though you
might enjoy a visit to the main street with its parliamentary
building boasting a relatively new Lenin statue and a tank from the
"independence war" decorated with flowers. Also, be sure to notice
the Soviet-style banners. However, a curfew is in effect, and
nightlife is non-existent.

Infrastructure

The city has a relatively modern infrastructure. The state-run
bus service is a simplistic method of transportation which is
fairly accessible. It runs at peak hours during the day, but does
not operate at night. The reasons for this is that criminal
activity became rampant on the bus system as is became a vehicle
for the drug trafficking in the Eastern Block during the mid
1990's. However, reforms by president Smirnov and his dedicated
assortment of public officials created the ability for the
bus-system to remain open for at least the better part of the day
creating a much needed public service for the Transnistrian
population.

There is neither an airport nor a seaport in Transnistria.
Tiraspool, the major city is landlocked and is largely shut in from
the outside world due to a lack of transcontinental infrastructure.
The closest airport is located in neighboring Moldova. It is an
international airport, however, there have been many nations that
have implied 'travel bans' on both Moldova and Transnistria.

Transnistrians do not have ready access to the Internet. About 5
of 100 homes have access to the world wide web. Most of these homes
belong to the cultural and political elite. The government has
limited the rights of free speech and thus is not apt to embrace
technological change and development. The local sewer system and
electrical grid is state of the art. Recently adapted from models
based in western Europe, the Transnistrian basic infrastructure was
built in the mid 1990s after the profits gained after the war of
independence in 1992.

Get In

There is regular bus and maxi-taxi service to Chisinau, Bender, Causeni, Odessa, and other Ukrainian and Moldovan cities. The main bus
station is about a kilometer from the city center and has clearly
posted schedules. No visa or payment is required for EU, Moldovan
or US citizens when staying for less than three days, but you must
remember to register with the police unless you are just on a day
trip. Some people have reported getting shaken down for payments at
the border - if this happens, hold your ground and act stubborn and
clueless. Many more people have crossed into Transnistria without
any hassle.

See

You can see most of what there is to see in Tiraspol by walking
up and down October 25th St., the main drag. There are several nice
parks in the city, including the Culture Park near the university.
This has abundant trees and a mixture of abandoned and
enthusiastically used amusement park rides, and is a good place for
people-watching. Most of the big monuments are at the south end of
the city, about 2 km from the Palace of Soviets.

Do

Visit many soviet monuments that remain in tiraspol since the
days of USSR. You may also want to visit local drama theater and
local museums near the center of the city.

Buy

In order to purchase goods, services or souvenirs in Tiraspol,
or in any Transnistrian locale you must exchange your outside
currency into Transnistrian rubles. The Transnistrian central bank
sets their own exchange rate and prints their own money, so the
amount of rubles you will get on any given day for your euros
varies significantly from week to week. Currency exchanges are
everywhere, including inside many popular stores, and will change
most local and major currencies. You can't pay with credit or debit
cards in Transnistria.

Eat

Andy's Pizza

Provides a mix of western style foods such as the "English
Breakfast" and other Eastern European favourites at reasonable
prices. The Menu is in English/Russian which is execllent if you
dont know too much Russian. One waiter when we were there spoke
good english also. The atmosphere is clean and modern but the
toilets are the eastern european squat variety which starkly
contrasts the rest of the resurant decor is on par with western
standards.

Drink

There are many shops and markets to purchase local food, drink
and their famous Transnistrian Vodka drink commonly referred to as
a "smirnovka" - appropriately named after president Igor
Smirnov.

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